Small plane lands on highway in the Bronx

Jan. 4, 2014
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In this photo downloaded from the New York City Fire Department‚??s Twitter account, firefighters stand near a light airplane that made an emergency landing on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx borough of New York on Jan. 4, 2014. / New York City Fire Department via AP

by Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY

by Natalie DiBlasio, USA TODAY

A small plane that made an emergency landing on a New York City highway has been removed and the highway reopened.

The single-engine plane made an emergency landing on the Major Deegan Expressway in the Bronx at 3:20 p.m. Saturday, according to New York City's Office of Emergency Management.

Emergency workers took the Piper PA-28 off the northbound lanes of the expressway on a flatbed truck at about 6 p.m.

New York Mayor Bill de Blasio says the plane was headed back to a Connecticut airport after touring the Statue of Liberty when it experienced engine trouble and set down on the highway at about 3:20 p.m.

De Blasio says the pilot and two passengers aboard were being treated for non-life-threatening injuries at a Bronx hospital.